Dear Editor
Icongratulate you, all those involved and interested in the field of psychosomatics, on the publication of the first issue of the influential journal “current psychosomatic research”. As you know, the foundation of the field of psychosomatics in the world to diagnose and treat illnesses is attributed to the well-known Iranian doctor, Hakim Abu Ali Sina, who discovered and revealed the influence of psychological factors in the emergence of physical diseases by diagnosing and treating that sick young lover.
It is a great pleasure that Iranian modern psychology has given rise to this field by establishing the psychosomatic field in the Medical Faculty of the University of Tehran in 1941 (Georgian calendar) with the effort of Dr. Hossein Rezai. In other words, the teaching of modern psychology in Iran has welcomed the psychosomatic field.
On the other hand, the psychosomatics department was established in Iran in July 2009 (Georgian calendar) in the Imam Khomeini Hospital of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Henceforth, other universities approved the fellowship curriculum of psychosomatics treatment in 2009 and admitted associates in the field of psychosomatics fellowship in 2010 at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, and later on Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and Iran University of Medical Sciences. The path of developing such specialists in this field began from then on and started an evolutionary trend.
Approving the first Iranian scientific forum of psychosomatic medicine on September 19, 2015 by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, treatment and teaching of this field, holding the first general assembly and the first election of this assembly on April 8, 2016, approving the establishment of the psychosomatics research center in Tehran University of Medical Sciences on December 19, 2016, by the council of developing medical universities in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, holding the first annual meeting of the above-mentioned assembly from May 8-11, 2018, establishing the virtual group of the alumni in the field of psychosomatics in the following years and other relevant services, all the series of measures are considered to complete the knowledge puzzle of the field of “psychosomatic medicine in Iran” and in line with the quantitative and qualitative development of this long-lasting and stable field in the new era [1]. 
Another subject was the fear, uncertainty, and distrust following the COVID-19 pandemic which led to an increased rate of depression and anxiety in the modern world. Accordingly, Matthias Horx, the German futurologist, and his colleagues in the “Zukunftsinstitut” published “Die Hoffnung Nach der Krise”. “Nowadays, I am constantly asked about when the COVID-19 pandemic ends and we can return to normal life. My answer is “never”, he says. Certain points in history change the path of the future forever. We refer to such points as the “great crisis”. We are currently at this point. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world as we knew it has fallen apart. Behind this fallen world that we thought we knew another world is rising. Jürgen Habermas, the most well-known German philosopher, also says “the COVID-19 pandemic made us realize how much we do not know”. António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations asserted in the public assembly of September 2021 “another disease is spreading in today’s world and that is distrust”.
Meanwhile, the research conducted currently around the world state the rising rate of psychological disorders in the post-COVID-19 era. Among them, a wide-scale study conducted around the world in more than 204 locations is published in “The Lancet” in 2021. It states the rate of 25.6% for anxiety disorders and 27.6% for depressive disorders a year after the COVID-19 pandemic; accordingly, the authors concluded the rising rate of these two types of disorders worldwide is a bitter and considerable new reality. The following tables 1 demonstrate the change in psychological health.


Also, in our country, Iran, according to the latest survey of psychological health conducted by myself and my colleagues in 2020, almost a year after the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of psychological disorders was reported to be 29.7%, compared to 23.4% in 2014. This considerable increase shows psychological disorders, especially symptoms of anxiety, social function disorders, and depression in the Iranian population. The following figures 1, 2 shows the psychological health trend of Iran in different years [3]. Based on the given assumptions, and according to the points provided by philosophical and political thinkers regarding the unknown future world and the coming uncertainties, which are the basis of psychological disorders, along with approving international and national studies regarding the rising rate of anxiety, depression, and corporealization, we should all be aware of the rising rate of psychosomatic disorders and intensification of physical diseases.
Accordingly, the vacancy of the influential journal “Current Psychosomatic Research” was indeed observed to fill the puzzle pieces of providing general service of education, research, and therapy of psychosomatics in Iran. It is a matter of great pleasure and honor that our friend and colleague, Dr. Seyyed Hamzeh Hosseini, professor of psychology, with the assistance of authorities in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and the scientific support of the Scientific Association of Psychosomatic Medicine of Iran, is determined to fill this gap to some extent.
I hereby congratulate this great scientific achievement and consider it my responsibility to express my gratitude toward the service and efforts provided by the editor-in-chief and all who are responsible for the journal. I wish you all my colleagues good health and spirit on this scientific journey.


Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
There were no ethical considerations to be considered in this research.

Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of interest
The author declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The editor of Psychosomatic Research Journal is thanked.

References

1. Noorbala AA. [Evolution of psychosomatic medicine in the world and Iran (Persian)]. Tehran: Teymorzade; 2018. [Link]
2. COVID-19 Mental Disorders Collaborators. Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet.  2021; 398(10312):1700-12. [PMID]
3. Noorbala AA, Maleki A, Bagheri Yazdi SA, Faghihzadeh E, Hoseinzadeh Z, Hajibabaei M, et al. Survey on mental health status in Iranian population aged 15 and above one year after the outbreak of COVID-19 disease: A population-based study. Arch Iran Med. 2022; 25(4):201-8. [PMID]